Two British men captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine could face the death penalty. Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin are both due to be tried in an area of Ukraine held by Russian forces, which Moscow refers to as the Donetsk People's Republic. Both face charges of "a number of crimes against civilians of the Donetsk People’s Republic".
The "maximum punishment for these crimes is the death penalty", Moscow-backed prosecutor Andrei Spivak told TV crews, reports Daily Star.
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Aslin, 28, said he understood the allegations against him but denies that he murdered civilians while fighting with Ukraine's Marines in Mariupol.
Pinner, Aslin and another foreign-born fighter are accused of committing terrorist acts, murdering civilians and threatening citizens, as well as "being on the territory of Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR] in a time of war, being armed with firearms, took part in the preparation and military actions against the Armed Forces of the Donetsk People's Republic for the purpose of forcibly seizing and forcibly retaining power on the territory of DPR.”
As he admitted using weapons and arms alongside other Ukrainian fighters and forces Aslin, a dual national from Nottinghamshire who has been a Ukrainian Marine since 2018, replied: “I understand fully what I am accused of and I agree with it fully up to the part about murdering civilians - I don’t agree with.
“I agree with the fact that I fought on the territory of the DPR, and fought against the soldiers of the DPR in peaceful settlements.”
Pinner, who has lived in the Donbas region of Ukraine with his wife for four years, was captured earlier last month and paraded in a Russian propaganda video.
In the video, he said: “Hi, I’m Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the UK. I was captured in Mariupol. I am part of the 36 Brigade First Battalion Ukrainian Marines.
“I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I’m in Donetsk People’s Republic.”
Donbas and the area Russians call the Donetsk People's Republic are part of Ukraine under international law, but Russia claims a referendum held in 2014 revealed citizens there wish to live under Russian rule. Ukraine disputes the referendum, which it views as illegal. Nations including Britain say the referendum was unconstitutional and illegitimate.
